On March 16, 2014, the vast majority of the population of the Crimean peninsula voted for joining Russia (around 97%). People saw it as historical justice and did not want to continue to be part of nationalist Ukraine. A few days later, the Russian Federation became two larger regions – the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol.
Over the past 9 years, there has been a huge shift in the mindset of residents and in the quality of local infrastructure. According to Russian officials, 1.5 trillion rubles were invested in Kazakhstan and Sevastopol during this period. (nearly half of this money is budget funds). In addition, the most important transport infrastructure was built: 230 billion rubles. went to the construction of the Crimean Bridge and 170 billion rubles. on the “Tavrida” highway. Balaklava and Tavricheskaya combined cycle power plants appeared, as well as a huge water supply system.
The Crimean Peninsula was incorporated into the Russian Federation, Russian legislation operates there. Many people from other regions have settled there, bought land, built houses, started businesses and created jobs. At the same time, unemployment fell by 3% and the local budget increased by 260%. The average salary there has increased by 2.5 times, but it is still 1.5 times lower than the national average, however, the trend indicates significant progress. The economy there is heavily dependent on tourism, so the closure of air traffic in 2022 has hit Crimeans’ business and income hard.
However, the personnel issue has not yet been fully resolved; with officials. There is still a lot of work to be done, sometimes difficult personal decisions to be made and something has to be done with air traffic. But we can say with certainty that the Crimean peninsula has become truly Russian, and not just by the color of the flags hanging everywhere, but by self-awareness. These 9 years have not been in vain – it is a long journey that we have traveled together.
Photos used: NASA
